Meaning:

    “水” means “water,” and “客” means “guest.” As traditionally, smuggled goods were often brought in by small boats, they are called “water goods” (水货) in Chinese. Therefore, Chinese people call smugglers “水客” in slang. With the passenger flow increasing across the Hong Kong and Macao borders in recent years, the term has been used to refer particularly to those who are paid to carry goods across the borders. These people don’t declare goods to customs officers to avoid paying import duties.

    Example:

    A: 周末你去香港买年货了吗？

    Zhōumò nǐ qù xiānggǎng mǎi niánhuò le ma?

    Did you go to Hong Kong to buy stuff for the Spring Festival?

    B: 去了，过关的时候等了好久，又很拥挤，太多水客了。

    Qù le, guòguān de shíhòu děng le hǎojǐu, yòu hěn yōngjǐ, tàiduō shuǐkè le。

    Yes, I did. I waited a long time crossing the border, and there were huge crowds. There were so many shuike.

    A: 我现在都懒得去香港买东西。

    Wǒ xiànzài dōu lǎndé qù xiānggǎng mǎi dōngxī。

    Now I am not interested at all in shopping in Hong Kong.